In what is going to be the most stacked SHOUTcraft lineup, perhaps even the most stacked online invitational lineup in Starcraft 2 history, we are happy to welcome our sponsor SanDisk who are dipping their toes into the eSports waters for the first time. SanDisk is a global leader in flash memory storage solutions, one of the largest on the planet. SanDisk has been involved in gaming for a very longtime, producing high performance SSDs for demanding PC gamers, USB, SD and Memory stick products for handheld gaming devices. SanDisk will be unveiling a new performance product for PC gamers alongside this event. We hope to give SanDisk a great first experience in eSports with the passionate Starcraft 2 fanbase.

Format

Once again we are shaking things up for the format this time around. We want to make sure the viewers get to see more matchups in a format that doesn't take all night. We'll be using the fairly standard dual-tournament format for the group stage. 2 groups of 4 will battle it out, 4 players will be eliminated, 4 will advance. Advancing in first place will give a player the edge, as they will play against the 2nd place player from the opposite group. That's where things start to get intense. These players are the best of the best so what better way to experience their electrifying skill than to watch them battle it out in a BO7? Every match from the RO4 onwards will be BO7 format, which will include a veto for each player, a 7 map pool and map repetition where necessary. We've crafted this format after consulting numerous progamers and we've agreed that this allows players to show their full range of playstyles and gives absolute classic matchs to the viewers. It's rare to get to see even two of these players battle it out in a Best of 7, let alone four and of course we'll be including a bronze match to determine 3rd place, giving us yet another fantastic series to watch. As a result of this format, the Sandisk SHOUTcraft Invitational will take place over a 4 day period.

Lineup

After a long time spent building relationships with the Korean teams we've confirmed an incredible lineup for this event. Some of the players you'll be seeing here have never competed in an online invitational. A unique cooperation with Korean teams has given us the opportunity to enjoy games from players rarely seen outside of Proleague. These guys don't just play any tournament, they only compete in the best, so we hope to live up to the challenge. In return, we are reaching out to the Korean fanbase to provide them with a unique experience. The tournament will be cast in Korean direct from the Axiom teamhouse, featuring our lineup of progamers as expert analysts. Joining the Korean cast and cast in English by TotalBiscuit and Artosis, we have the very best from China, with the guys over at NeoTV providing their commentary expertise for the Chinese audience. This is a unique event and we wanted to make sure we reached out to audiences flourishing in the Asian territories.

We will be announcing 1 new player every day. I doubt you will be disappointed. Some of these players are practically never seen in online events outside of qualifiers. We are confident that this is pound for pound the best lineup you have ever seen in an online invitational.